December 24, 2025
MANILA – As it does every year, the Philippines was once again devastated by back-to-back, if not simultaneous, natural calamities in 2025.
From deadly seismic events and unpredictable volcanic activity to flood-inducing cyclones as strong as super typhoons, the country had been struck by thousands of disasters that had affected millions of individuals nationwide.
Here’s a recap of some of the most atrocious catastrophes in 2025 that have left many people displaced, with several still recovering at the end of the year.
Relentless cyclones
Throughout the year, the country was hit by 23 tropical cyclones, as recorded by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) as of December 19.
The effects of all 23 cyclones of varying intensities affected over 20 million Filipinos across the country, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
Based on data from the Office of Civil Defense, the deadliest cyclone was Typhoon Tino (international name: Kalmaegi), which left 269 dead, 523 injured, and 113 missing.
READ: Tino death toll climbs to 269, Uwan fatalities at 28
With its peak intensity at 130 kilometers per hour, Tino made eight landfalls from November 2 to November 6, traversing over the Visayas and Palawan and affecting Southern Luzon and Northern Mindanao. After its onslaught, Tino left 5,458,858 individuals affected.
Shortly after, while the Visayas was still in recovery from Tino, Super Typhoon Uwan (international name: Fung-Wong) wreaked havoc in the country for almost a week.
READ: Uwan now a super typhoon, life-threatening conditions for Bicol
At its peak, Uwan had maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour, moving past Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon while also affecting parts of the Visayas. In its course, Uwan flooded a total of 674 areas, affecting 7,900,609 individuals, with 33 dead, 88 injured, and three missing.
Back-to-back and sometimes overlapping cyclones also devastated the country.
According to Pagasa, from July 16 to August 1, Severe Tropical Storm Crising (international name: Wipha), Tropical Storm Dante (international name: Francisco), and Typhoon Emong (international name: Co-May) struck Luzon and parts of the Visayas in succession, affecting a total of 10,078,298 individuals, including 34 deaths, 29 injuries, and seven missing persons.
READ: Crising, Dante, Emong combined death toll at 26
Another triple threat, accompanied by the effects of the southwest monsoon (habagat), also passed by the country in September, leaving 4,622,401 individuals affected: Tropical Storm Mirasol (international name: Mitag), Super Typhoon Nando (international name: Ragasa), and Typhoon Opong (international name: Bulaoi).
Mirasol, formed inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on September 17 and as it exited on September 18, Nando entered east of the Visayas before developing into a Super Typhoon with maximum sustained winds of up to 205 kph.
On the morning of Sept. 23, Nando left PAR, but in the evening, Opong entered and carried winds as high as 130 kph, making four total landfalls before the month ended.
READ: More than 3.5 million people affected by Opong, Nando, Mirasol, Habagat
The remaining cyclones that also devastated the country are listed below with the number of affected persons, according to the NDRRMC:
June
- Tropical Depression Auring, along with the effects of habagat, affected 103,134 individuals
July
- Typhoon Bising (international name: Danas) affected 103,398 individuals, 1 dead
August
- Tropical Depression Fabian
- Typhoon Gorio (international name: Podul)
- Tropical Depression Huaning (international name: Lingling)
- Typhoon Isang (international name: Kajiki), affected 50,703 individuals
- Tropical Depression Jacinto (international name: Nongfa), with the effects of habagat and a low-pressure area (LPA), affected 203,490 individuals
September
- Tropical Depression Kiko (international name: Peipah), with the effects of habagat, affected 103,134 individuals
- Tropical Depression Lannie (international name: Tapah,) with the effects of habagat, affected 89,675 individuals
October
- Typhoon Paolo (international name: Matmo), affected 344,810 individuals
- Tropical Storm Quedan (international name: Nakri)
- Tropical Storm Ramil (international name: Fengshen), affected 101,212 individuals, 7 deaths, 1 injured, 2 missing
- Tropical Depression Salome
November
- Severe Tropical Storm Verbena (international name: Koto), with the effects of the shear line, affected 356,883 individuals, 8 injured, 2 missing
December
- Tropical Depression Wilma, with the effects of the northeast monsoon and the shear line, affected 138,097 individuals, 1 missing
Powerful, deadly earthquakes
Aside from devastating typhoons that battered the Philippines this year, the country was also not spared from major earthquakes that left many Filipinos in despair, with loved ones lost, houses and establishments damaged, and livelihoods affected.
It was a double whammy for many Filipinos as these major earthquakes with their aftershocks hit many areas in Central Visayas and Davao Oriental in September and October, also during the time when strong typhoons pummeled the country.
READ: It’s a double whammy for quake-hit Bogo City in Cebu
On September 30, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake jolted Bogo City in Cebu with its highest intensity reported at Intensity VII over Bogo City, Daanbantayan, Medellin, San Remigio, and Tabuelan.
The earthquake was also widely felt in other areas such as Negros Occidental, Masbate, Bohol, Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Biliran, Leyte, Ormoc City, Tacloban, Capiz, Negros Oriental, Samar, Camiguin, Zamboanga Del Norte, and even in Southern Luzon areas such as Bohol, Sorsogon, and Albay.
The powerful earthquake also generated a total of 12,704 aftershocks, which ranged from magnitudes 1 to 5.8, according to the data of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) as of October 17. Of this figure, Phivolcs said that 2,308 were plotted while 68 were felt.
According to the October 21 report of NDRRMC, the earthquake affected a total of 218,049 families or 750,814 persons. This strong earthquake is also considered deadly, as the NDRRMC reported 79 deaths and 559 injuries.
READ: Deadly Cebu earthquake leaves P1.67-B damage to schools
The tremor also damaged a total of 159,379 houses in Central Visayas, with the estimated cost of damage to infrastructure amounting to P73,334,141 in the region.
In response, the NDRRMC said that a total of P493,400,663.75 worth of assistance was given to the earthquake victims in Central Visayas. The European Union also released about P50.52 million in humanitarian aid for Cebu earthquake victims, which would provide emergency relief such as temporary shelter, water, sanitation, and cash.
READ: Phivolcs: Back-to-back quakes in Davao Oriental a ‘doublet earthquake’
But just less than two weeks later, on October 10, magnitudes 7.4 and 6.8 earthquakes jolted Manay in Davao Oriental. Phivolcs earlier said that these may be considered as “doublet earthquake,” where the agency explained that it refers to distinct or different earthquakes that occurred in almost the same area “with two (or more) main shocks that have slight difference in magnitude.”
The Phivolcs reported that these tremors generated 1,638 aftershocks, which ranged from magnitudes 1.2 to 5.8 as of October 20. Of this figure, 810 were plotted while 19 were felt.
In the October 24 situational report of the NDRRMC, the doublet earthquake affected a total of 362,644 families or 1,511,900 individuals. The NDRRMC also reported 10 deaths and 176 injuries from these incidents.
The doublet earthquake’s onslaught was also evident in 25,000 damaged houses in Davao Region and Caraga Region. Meanwhile, the estimated cost of damage to infrastructures reached P350,028,106 in these two regions.
READ: The ‘Big One’ may also jolt Negros Island – Phivolcs
With this, the NDRRMC said that P94,958,025.52 worth of assistance was provided to a total of 254,240 families.
Volcanoes’ restiveness
Some active volcanoes in the country also showed restiveness this year, such as the Kanlaon Volcano which sits between Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental, Taal Volcano in Batangas, and Mayon Volcano in Albay.
Since the Kanlaon Volcano’s eruption on December 9, 2024, many residents were displaced from their homes and were forced to live in temporary shelters for months. It had an explosive eruption on April 8, where its Alert Level 3 indicated magmatic unrest remained.
READ: Phivolcs lowers Kanlaon alert level; evacuees can now go home
The Phivolcs said that the volcano’s eruption last April produced a voluminous bent plume of approximately 4,000 meters tall, which drifted southwest. With this, the agency recommended the evacuation of all residents within a six-kilometer radius of the volcano’s summit.
The volcano’s alert level was downgraded to Alert Level 2 on July 30, which would allow nearly 4,000 residents living in evacuation centers since its eruption last December to go home, according to Donato Sarmiento III, director of the Office of Civil Defense in the Negros Island Region.
According to the latest 24-hour monitoring of the volcano, which was posted on Dec. 18, the volcano released 2,247 tons of sulfur dioxide on Dec. 17. This was slightly higher than December 16’s 2,070 tons.
Restiveness was also observed over Taal Volcano, where one of its recent eruptions occurred last December 4. Despite many eruptions, the volcano remained under Alert Level 1, which signifies a low level of unrest.
In its latest monitoring bulletin, Phivolcs said that the volcano released 165 tons of sulfur dioxide last December 13.
READ: Phivolcs warns of rising hazards at Mayon Volcano after new lava flow
Meanwhile, Phivolcs reported that new spines of dark lava were observed at the Mayon Volcano summit lava dome on Dec. 10. The agency then warned of “increased chances of volcanic hazards” which may include sudden steam of phreatic explosions, rockfall, and lahar flow during heavy rains.
With this, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines prohibited flying of aircraft near Mayon Volcano, where its issuance of Notice to Airmen extended until Dec. 19 at 9 a.m. However, Alert Level 1 remains over the volcano, where the Phivolcs prohibits entry into a six-kilometer radius or the permanent danger zone and flying of aircraft close to the volcano.
With calamities hitting the Philippines every year, many families are forced to reel from their impacts as the government scurries to provide remedies and assistance to the victims while solving the fiasco in several government infrastructure projects.